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Memo:
Date: April 10, 2016
To: Tracie Pollard, Education Department
From: Brenden Lloyd, Secondary Education major, Sheridan College
Subject: Outreach program for secondary education
Attached to this memo is a report detailing the research discussed in my proposal submitted on
April 5th, 2016. This report contains all the proposed research from the proposal, however, the
research has been completed and analyzed throughout the report, and I hope to push Sheridan
College to make a decision on offering such a program to the students of Sheridan College.
For this report I used the same tasks as mentioned in my proposal which were:
1.) Inquire more about the current elementary education program and its successes.
2.) Analyze other colleges and examine programs offered by them that are similar to
Sheridan Colleges.
3.) Establish student interest, and numbers in Secondary Education at Sheridan College.
I researched all these tasks, and all these task turned up results except for Task 2, which harbored
no results based on the difficulty of the research. Overall, this report will cover my research
methods, the results of that research, a set of conclusions, and a final recommendation section,
and an attached appendix that includes the survey given for my 3rd task.
The findings of my research suggest that Sheridan College would be greatly benefited by
offering a program similar to the elementary ed. program in place now. By offering this program
Sheridan College students would be able to save money by staying at a lower priced institution,
and would benefit from the close 1 to 1 teaching instruction. The College itself would not have to
do any extra funding as the program is through Chadron State, and Sheridan would just be
facilitating the program. With the professors in place now, a Secondary Ed. outreach program
would be a few extra classes with content areas to meet teaching requirements.
Thank you for considering my proposed research, and I hope a decision can be made about
offering the proposed program. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me at
brendenlloyd@Sheridan.edu or (307)-231-1143.
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Secondary Education Outreach Program: A Recommendation Report

Prepared For: Traci Pollard, Education Department

Prepared By: Brenden Lloyd, Secondary Education Student, Sheridan College
April 10, 2016
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Table of Contents:
Introduction4

Statement of the Problem...4

Research Methods..5-6

Results6-7-8

Conclusions8-9

Recommendations..9

Works Cited10

Appendix.11
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Introduction:
To date, Sheridan College offers both a secondary/elementary education program for its
students. However, only the elementary education offers an outreach program. Through this
program, students are able to complete their full Bachelors degree while remaining in Sheridan.
Secondary education students have been left out of this opportunity. Currently at Sheridan
College, there is no outreach program through Chadron State that allows these students to remain
at a lower priced institution, such as Sheridan College, to complete their Bachelors. This is what
I see as a problem. Through this report I will share what I have found, and how Sheridan College
is falling short by not offering this immensely beneficial program to its education students.
I have been in the Education program for one year, and this problem has recently come to
my attention. What I will be looking at in this report is if the outreach program is a feasible
option for Sheridan College, that is, if funding, and resources are available to offer this type of
program. As you already know the elementary ed. Outreach program is already up and running,
and with the proper tools, I believe the secondary ed. Program will see its own outreach program.
By examining other community colleges that offer these types of programs, very few
conclusions can be drawn about the success rate of these outreach programs. However, many
colleges offer similar programs to what Sheridan College has for its elementary education
students. There are a few problems with not offering this outreach program, and they are stated
below.
Statement of the Problem:
Though Sheridan College offers a multitude of programs, the secondary education program is
lacking. By not offering this outreach program, as it is offered to elementary education students,
I feel students are missing out on an equally great opportunity. Sheridan College is defiantly
losing revenue due to this program not being implemented. By offering such a program, more
students would be inclined to stay in Sheridan, thus bringing more revenue to the school and
Sheridan itself.
This program has been looked at for a few years now, yet no set decisions have been made. It has
been analyzed, and looked over again and again, yet no action has been taken. While this
program is being mulled over, students are being lost to other schools, and money is not being
made for the institution. The elementary program has shown that it is effective boasting very
high success rates, and secondary could follow. By not offering an outreach program for
secondary education, Sheridan College is losing both students and yearly revenue. The student is
missing out on a much more affordable program through Sheridan, by having to move to a
higher level University. This problem hurts both Sheridan College and the students of it.
Research methods:
To learn more about the elementary education outreach program, I looked at what it takes to
operate such a program, other colleges and similar programs offered by them, and how much
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interest there is in offering a similar program for secondary education. A preview of what steps I
took to acquire this information is listed below:
4.) Inquire more about the current elementary education program and its successes.
5.) Analyze other colleges and examine programs offered by them that are similar to
Sheridan Colleges.
6.) Establish student interest, and numbers in Secondary Education at Sheridan College.

Task 1: Inquire more about the current elementary education outreach program and its
successes.
For this task I turned to the director of the education program here at Sheridan College, Traci
Pollard. Traci is heading the outreach program for elementary education here at Sheridan
College, as one of those involved in implementing the same program for secondary education. In
my interview with Traci Pollard I asked her a multitude of questions about the current
elementary program, and what the possibility of offering another for secondary education would
be. I asked Mrs. Pollard such questions as:
1. Do you think Sheridan has the resources and funding to offer a secondary education
outreach program, if so why, and if not why.
2. Do you think it would be beneficial to students if a secondary education program was
offered? Why or why not?
3. What do you think Sheridan College would gain by offering this secondary education
outreach program?
Along with these questions I also asked Tracy to give me an overview of the current program for
elementary education, and the basics of its function, and a little about the student participation in
this program. Some other questions I asked involved what it would take, in her opinion, to offer
the same program but for secondary education, and if any additional funding would be needed.
I also consulted Jeff Jones, who is also in the education program as a professor. I asked
him similar questions as Traci, and asked mainly for his thoughts and opinions on offering this
program.

Task 2: Analyze other colleges and examine programs offered by them that are similar to
Sheridan Colleges.
To look at other colleges I relied heavily on national databases, and individual college sites. I
mainly just typed these search items into google and went through the results and looked for the
best pages to click on. Some of the pages I initially used were:
1. nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator (This was a National database for college education I used.)
2. ope.ed.gov/accreditation (Another data base through the Department of Education)
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3. national-college.edu/libraries/research-databases.lasso (Another Data base used through

the National College Library.)
4. http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cclo/ccfacts.html (Another community
college database through the Department of Education helped gain information on other
colleges.)
I used these pages to search for any information or data I could find on Education Program
enrollment, success rates of these programs, anything at all. I also used them to find information
on other colleges, Community Colleges, much like Sheridan.
Task 3: Establish student interest, and numbers in secondary education at Sheridan
College.
The main resource I used to gauge the interest of students on this issue was a survey. I used
Surveymonkey.com to create a very simple survey that could be sent to staff and then dispersed
to their education classes. The questions I asked on said survey were as follows:
1. Are you in the Elementary Education program, or Secondary Education program?
2. If you are in the Elementary Ed. program, do you plan on remaining in Sheridan to receive
your bachelors through the Chadron State Outreach Program? Why or why not?
3. If you are in the Secondary Ed. program, if there was an outreach program offered to you
at Sheridan College, would you remain in Sheridan and enter this program? Why or why
not?
4. Do you think it would be beneficial to Sheridan College to offer a Chadron State Outreach
program for Secondary Education? Why or why not?

Overall, I received 17 total responses for my surveys and got good feedback that will be
reviewed later on in my report. My survey gave me a good range of responses from Sheridan
Colleges education majors, and will add to your decision on the proposed program.

Results:
Task 1: Inquire more about the current elementary education outreach program and its
successes.
For this task, as stated earlier, I consulted both Jeff Jones and Traci Pollard. In my interview with
Jeff Jones, he said that he was not a good a source as Mrs. Pollard, however, he stated that this
type of program would be very possible, and very functional in a place like Sheridan. Other than
his opinion, Jeff had very little to offer as far as details on what would be needed as such a
program (Jones). Traci Pollard gave me the bulk of my research information. She agreed with
Mr. Jones, and said that the Elementary program has shown that these outreach programs do
work. The local elementary education program as of this year boasts a 98% graduation rate, and
a 90+% rate of its teachers being moved into a teaching position in the first year (Pollard).
According to Pollard, the reason this current program works so well is because of the
surrounding area. The current Elementary program works very closely with the local Sheridan
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County schools, and future teachers get hands on classroom experience by looking in on how
current teachers do it. By doing this, Pollard says that these students come out very well off from
this program, and have contacts in the Sheridan County area from working so closely in all their
schools (Pollard).
The other aspect that makes the current program excel according to Pollard, is the Lab
school. The lab school in Sheridan hosts over 85 k-5 students who are taught by teachers that
have moved into their fourth year of the program (Pollard). They use their very own full
functioning classroom and teach up to date standards, and lessons that prepare Sheridan
Colleges teachers for the real world of teaching.
The current elementary outreach program through Sheridan has a total of 12 teachers in
the program this year. Although these numbers are not necessarily high, they show fantastic
numbers and countless successes for the education department and its current outreach program.
Another huge aspect that Pollard emphasized was the funding this program would take and the
lack there of. According to her, this program would take no extra funding because it is through
Chadron state and is only facilitated here in Sheridan. Therefore, there would be need for special
funding or hiring new staff, as they are already here.
Task 2: Analyze other colleges and examine programs offered by them that are similar to
Sheridan Colleges.
After looking at the previously mentioned Websites, I found it very hard to find any useful
information that would shine a light on the successes of other colleges, and their outreach
programs as they are now. The only information that I found was statistics on College price,
enrollment rates and numbers on graduates. Very little feedback was found that could be used in
this report to add to the validity of it.
Task 3: Establish student interest, and numbers in secondary education at Sheridan
College.
The survey I put out received good feedback, and 18 total students responding to it. This number
isnt everybody, but it is a good start to receive excellent student feedback. A total of 80% of all
responders were actually in the Elementary Program, as there are not many Secondary Ed (See
figure 1). Students at Sheridan College. A mere 20% of responders were a Secondary Ed. Major.
Although most responders were elementary ed. Majors, I still got great feedback on what the
current outreach program is like now and how well it works for students in Sheridan (See Figure
1).

When the students staking the survey were asked, Do you think it would be beneficial to
Sheridan College to offer a Chadron State Outreach program for Secondary Education? Why or
why not? Every single responder of my survey stated that they believe that offering such a
program would be extremely beneficial to education majors in the Sheridan area. The main
complaint of the surveyed students was that students had to pay out of state tuition due to the fact
that the program is facilitated by Sheridan, through Chadron State. This was an overlooked
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aspect when discussing the current program with Mrs. Pollard.

(Figure 1)

Although there was unanimous trend that such a program for Secondary Education, there were
over 10 students in the survey that they would prefer to leave, not because of finances but
because they wanted to get away from home more. This is understandable, as most students are
eager to leave home and begin their own journey. Whether or not enough student interest is in
the Secondary education program would defiantly have an effect on the worth of such a program.
Higher level Sheridan colleges would need to turn out their own survey to analyze in greater
detail whether or not such a program is worth setting up.

Conclusions:
There arent a ton of ways to go about this program. In reality, it just needs to be done the way
the elementary education program is done, with slight differences. Although the enlistment of
professors from the different content areas would be crucial for secondary education, it would
still work the same. I drew many conclusions about the research done in my report, and the
conclusions for each are listed below:
Faculty Interviews:
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My faculty interviews were the most informative of all my sources. Traci Pollard is heading the
movement to implement a program such as this one, and gave me great info on the funding and
resources that it would take. Overall, to her, this program is very doable. By placing teacher sin
the specific content areas within the program as well, this program can be specialized to fit the
needs of just about all Secondary education majors in Sheridan. Whether it be physical
education, math, history, English, or art, Sheridan College has staff in all these areas that are
teaching these subjects already. New classes would have to be offered, but the staff and
knowledge is already there. Another conclusion drawn from my personal interview is the fact
that no additional funding would be necessary. Sheridan College already has the buildings and
staff, and the program itself would be funded through Chadron state as it is their program,
Sheridan College just facilitates it. This means this program would come at no extra cost to
Sheridan College, and could only boost it from here.
Other Colleges:
As I stated before, this aspect of research proved to be very difficult to research. I found very
little information on other colleges and their outreach education programs. This is probably due
to the fact that it is such a narrow item to search. Perhaps with a longer time frame more
information could be found, but for the time I spent, no additional information could be found.
Student Survey:
This part of research was one of the most important. Through my survey, it shined a light on
what the students of Sheridan College in the education program though of such a program. As
stated before, all students stated it would be a useful and utilized program to offer at Sheridan
College. This means that the education students of Sheridan would perhaps enter into this
program, and give it the backing it needs. Although the numbers for education students are not
incredibly high, the successes show the worth of the program. However, this could be a bonus
for the students in the program. By having less students, the hands on, and teacher to student
ratio would be fantastic. Students would be able to basically work 1 to 1 with their instructors
and get the very best out of their time in the program.
Recommendations:
After review of this report, I would recommend we pass this program. Through the benefits
explained in this report, it is hopefully clear that such a program would be of great use at
Sheridan College. Elementary and Secondary education student unanimously agree that such a
program would be extremely beneficial to all education students, and is an opportunity that
should not be kept from the students of Sheridan College. So, I propose Sheridan College makes
this program a reality, and opens the door for Secondary Education students, as they have for
Elementary students.
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Works Cited

Review: Sheridan College National Center of Education Statistics. U.S. Department of

Education, 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

Secondary Ed. Outreach Program. Online survey. 20 Apr. 2016

Jones, Jeff. Personal Interview. 23 Apr. 2016

Pollard, Traci. Personal Interview. 23 Apr.2016

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Appendix:
A Copy of the Survey given is pinned below: